Luggage processing station and system thereof

ABSTRACT

A processing station for registering a piece of passenger&#39;s luggage for a trip, wherein the processing station comprises: an injector for receiving the piece of luggage associated with the passenger: at least one sensor associated with the injector, the at least one sensor, in combination with at least the floor of the injector, creating a zone around the piece of luggage; and a controller associated with the sensor being adapted to: monitor, via the at least one sensor, intrusions through the zone to determine one or more of whether a predetermined limit on dimensions of the piece of luggage has been exceeded or whether a foreign object has intruded the zone from outside, and allow further processing of the piece of luggage only if no intrusion of the zone is detected; and wherein the controller adjusts the area of the zone to accommodate different sizes of luggage.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to luggage processing station or deviceadapted for use with booking, processing and loading of airport luggagethroughout an airport and onto an associated airplane. The recentinvention may also include a system and/or method as embodied within thesaid station or device.

BACKGROUND

Previously, there has been a long felt need for a system or device thatit is capable of safely and efficiently booking and processing passengerluggage in the airport environment.

A previous system is the BagDrop Standard Unit or system which isdisclosed in detail at http://www.bagdrop.com. The BagDrop system isgenerally bulky and has severe limitations in terms of ease and/or speedof usage which is generally connected with the overall layout of themachine and location of the passenger loading luggage onto the machine.

PCT Published Patent Application No. WO2012012841 describes an earlierdisclosed system that includes many improvements in ease of usage overthe BagDrop Standard Unit. However, this disclosed system may generallylack adaptive features that allow for bulky passenger items or luggageto be processed. Additionally, the system may be improved with bettersystems. The disclosed system also has limitations in regard to theprocessing of airport tubs.

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should inno way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely knownor forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

SUMMARY Problems to be Solved

Many earlier attempts have had issues in relation to airport security orpassenger safety and it is an object of the present invention to atleast address or ameliorate some of the issues. It is also an aim orobjective of the present invention to provide an improved processing,system and/or method for processing luggage wherein reliability,convenience, and/or ease of usage is at least addressed or improved.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate atleast one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a usefulalternative.

Means for Solving the Problem

A first aspect of the present invention may relate to a processingstation for registering a piece of passenger's luggage for a trip,wherein the processing station comprises an injector for receiving thepiece of luggage associated with the passenger; at least one sensorassociated with the injector, the at least one sensor, in combinationwith at least the floor of the injector, creating a zone around thepiece of luggage; and a controller associated with the sensor beingadapted to: monitor, via the at least one sensor, intrusions through thezone to determine one or more whether a predetermined limit ondimensions of the piece of luggage has been exceeded or whether aforeign object has intruded the zone from outside, and allow furtherprocessing of the piece of luggage only if no intrusion of the zone isdetected; and wherein the controller adjusts the area of the zone toaccommodate different sizes of luggage.

Preferably, the zone may encompass the piece of luggage at a distance ofbetween 1 mm to 1 m from an outer perimeter of the piece of luggage.

Preferably, wherein the first aspect includes one or more cameras as theat least one sensor, and further the cameras may be stereotypic camerasor infrared spectrum cameras.

Preferably, the first aspect of the present invention may also includethree or more sensors and may also include at least one barcode reader.

Preferably, the first aspect of the present invention may include theinjector wherein the injector includes no physical walls except for thefloor; or alternately wherein the injector includes a physical frontwall, physical side wall, and a physical floor.

Preferably, the zone may include concave or convex walls or walls thattaper towards the centre of the injector.

Preferably, wherein the sensors include cameras, the cameras may bedirected towards the centre of the injector, when in use.

Preferably, wherein the zone includes a virtual top wall which isgenerally parallel to a floor of the injector when the height of thevirtual top is below a minimum threshold.

A second aspect of the present invention may include: a processingstation for registering a passenger's luggage for a trip, wherein theprocessing station comprises: a luggage transportation tub having afirst shape, the tub being adapted to receive the piece of luggageassociated with the passenger; an injector for receiving the tub withthe piece of luggage therein; at least one camera associated with theinjector, wherein the at least one camera is positioned so as to allowan image of the tub to be taken; and a controller associated with thecamera, the controller being adapted to control the operation of the atleast one camera and wherein the controller compares the image to adatabase of predetermined tub shapes.

Preferably, wherein the controller confirms with the passenger the useof the tub. Also preferably, the controller may measure the combinedweight of the luggage and tub and then subtracts the weight of the tubfrom the combined weight and records the result with the passenger'sflight details.

Please note that the definition of the “centre of the injector” isintended to include the hypothetical centre or locations proximal to;and/or the equivalent point of the approximate centre of the floor orany approximate point rising from the centre of the floor of theinjector.

In the context of the present invention, the words “comprise”,“comprising” and the like are to be construed in their inclusive, asopposed to their exclusive, sense, that is in the sense of “including,but not limited to”.

In the context of the present invention, the word “tub” may refer to orbe construed as any tub suitable for use as a portable luggagereceptacle in an airport environment. Typically, tubs include withintheir meaning a five shaped tray or cup shaped receptacle with a flatbottom forming a general rectangular shape when viewed from a top view.Generally, tubs are constructed of light weight and relatively rigidmaterial and generally are constructed of plastics or polymers includingpolypropylene.

The invention is to be interpreted with reference to the at least one ofthe technical problems described or affiliated with the background art.The present aims to solve or ameliorate at least one of the technicalproblems and this may result in one or more advantageous effects asdefined by this specification and described in detail with reference tothe preferred embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 depicts a front perspective view of the first preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a front perspective view of the first preferredembodiment wherein a piece of luggage has been loaded into the injector;

FIG. 3 depicts a front perspective view of a second preferred embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a front perspective view of the second preferredembodiment wherein a piece of luggage has been loaded into the injector;and

FIG. 5 depicts a left side perspective view of a third preferredembodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings and non-limiting examples.

The first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes aluggage process station or device that is adapted to receive luggagefrom a passenger. The station is adapted to safely receive the luggageand to then process the luggage. Preferably, processing the luggage mayinvolve a multiple stage process which will be described in greaterdetail within this document. Preferably, the luggage processing stationmay include a processing area for receiving a piece of luggage.

Referring to the drawings, there is provided a processing station 10 forregistering a passenger's luggage for a trip. The processing station 10comprises an injector 14 for receiving a piece of luggage associatedwith the passenger. A plurality of or multiple sensors 6-7 areassociated with the injector. The sensors 6-7 are described in detailbelow. A weighing machine 18 is also associated with the injector 14 forweighing the piece of luggage whilst on a bottom or lower surface of theinjector 14. The luggage processing station also comprises a userinterface 20 for receiving various inputs for confirming that apassenger has checked-in. For example, the user interface 20 includes anelectronic card reader, in the form of an RFID card scanner 22, forreading an electronic identifier from an electronic RFID-enabledpassenger identification card to confirm passenger check-in.Alternatively, or in addition, the scanner 22 may be adapted to read anelectronic identifier stored on an electronic device, such as apassenger's mobile phone, and transmitted to the scanner usingnear-field RFID to confirm passenger check-in; or barcodes or QR codesmay be used.

Preferably, the user interface also includes a scanner 24 for scanningvarious types of passenger boarding passes, such as paper boardingpasses with magnetic strips and printed boarding passes with onedimensional (1D) barcodes. The user interface 20 may further include amagnetic card scanner for scanning magnetic strip-type passengeridentification cards.

The user interface comprises a touch screen display 26 to displayinformation to the passenger during processing of the piece of luggage.The screen 26 is adapted to display a message directing the passenger toremove their luggage and check-in prior to attempting to process theirluggage if the input indicates that the passenger has not checked-in,the screen 26 also permits the passenger to input information tofacilitate processing of the piece of luggage.

A controller 28 is associated with the sensors and weighing machine 18and the user interface 20. The controller 28 is adapted to accept thepiece of luggage if the input received via the passenger's boarding passor identification card indicate that the passenger has checked-in forthe trip, feedback from the sensors 6-7 indicates that predeterminedcriteria, which are discussed in more detail below, are met, and iffeedback from the weighing machine 18 indicates that weight of the pieceof luggage is within a predetermined limit.

Preferably, the sensors 16 a, 16 b, (please note that sensors 16 a and16 b are not visible in the perspective views shown in FIGS. 1-5, asthere are positioned on the opposed respective inner side on injectorproximal to the access opening) 16 c and 16 d, in combination with walls30, 32 and a floor 34 of the injector 14, create a six-sided virtual boxaround a loaded piece of luggage. Sidewall 36 and top 38 of the virtualbox are generated by the combination of sensors, respectively, such thatno physical barrier is provided on these sides of the injector 14, andthereby define a side access opening 39 to the injector 14 to facilitatea passenger side loading luggage into the injector 14 from a positionadjacent the user interface 20. The combination of sensors facilitatedetermination of whether the height and width of the loaded piece ofluggage are within predetermined limits for acceptance. Sensors 16 c and16 d (in cooperation with 16 a and 16 b respectively) include photo eyesfor facilitating positioning of the piece of luggage in the injector 14and determining whether the length of the piece of luggage is withinpredetermined limits for acceptance. However, in alternate embodiments,3D imaging using cameras may be used to detect the length and width ofthe piece of luggage.

Physical walls 30 and 32 comprise a vertical glass panel to preventunauthorised access to the piece of loaded luggage, whilst stillallowing the piece of loaded luggage to be viewed. The initial heightand width dimensions of the virtual box may be adjusted by a suitablyauthorised technician, for example to conform the luggage processingstation to the regulatory standards on luggage dimensions for aparticular airport.

The controller 28 is adapted to monitor, via sensors, intrusions throughthe virtual box to determine whether a foreign object has intruded thevirtual box from outside, which may indicate that the piece of luggagehas been tampered with, and allow further processing of the piece ofluggage only if no intrusion of the virtual box is detected. Thecontroller 28 is also adapted to monitor, via sensors 6-7, whether thedimensions of the piece of luggage are within the predetermined limitsapplicable to the particular airport, and allow further processing ofthe piece of luggage only if the predetermined limits are determined notto have been exceeded. The controller 28 is also adapted to monitor, viasensors 16 c and 16 d, whether the piece of luggage is correctlypositioned in the injector 14 and allow further processing of the pieceof luggage only if this is the case. If the piece of luggage isdetermined to be oversized, the controller 28 causes the screen 26 todisplay a message for the passenger to remove the piece of luggage andproceed with same to an oversize luggage processing counter. If thepiece of luggage is determined to be overweight, the controller 28 maycause the screen 26 to display a message offering for the passenger torepack the piece of luggage to reduce its weight. If the piece ofluggage is accepted for further processing, the controller 28 causes thepiece of luggage to be weighed via the weighing machine 18. If thevirtual box is breached after weighing of the piece of luggage iscomplete, the controller 28 is adapted to provide the passenger with amessage indicating same via the user interface 20 or the screen 26. Oncethe breach of the virtual box is rectified, the controller 28 is adaptedto cause the piece of luggage to be re-weighed. If the virtual boxcontinues to be breached by the piece of luggage, the controller 28causes the screen 26 to display a message for the passenger to removethe piece of luggage and proceed with same to an oversize luggageprocessing counter.

The sensor 6-7 may also function as a user detection sensor to detectthe presence of a user in a predetermined zone around the processingstation 10. The predetermined zone extends over an area around the userinterface 20 and the access opening 39 to the injector 14. Thecontroller 28 is adapted to terminate processing of a piece of luggageif feedback from the sensor 16 b indicates that the user has moved outof the predetermined zone prior to acceptance of the piece of luggage.

The luggage processing station 10 comprises detectors, comprising barcode scanners 16 g, for detecting whether the piece of luggage has a bagtag applied that stores information for associating the piece of luggagewith the passenger and the passenger's trip. Preferably, there are atleast two bar code readers, wherein the first is mounted directly abovethe luggage and the second is mounted midway along the front wall. Morepreferably, the system may include 3 or 4 multi axis bar code readersmounted around the perpheri of the injector to visualise the piece ofluggage from multiple angles. The controller 28 is responsive to thedetectors and is adapted to reject the piece of luggage if the detectorscannot detect the presence of a bag tag storing the requiredinformation. The trip information on the bag tag may compriseinformation for associating the passenger's luggage with a vehiclecarrying the passenger on the trip, such as an aircraft IATA licenseplate. Preferably, the trip information may include any or all of thefollowing: IATA license plate numbers, flight date, trip information,flight number, destination, passenger names. Preferably, a printed bagtag may be issued by the printer 44 in this embodiment or a separatekiosk electronically linked to the embodiment may be able to process andprint the appropriate bag tag.

Please note that in some further embodiments, the sensors 6-7 may beformed by the use of cameras acting as the sensor and in thesesituations, at least one camera may operate as a bar code reader and inturn supply information to the controller.

The bag tag may be in the formed of a printed tag with a barcode oralternately a RFID tag may be used; or a combination of the twomethodologies.

Preferably, the user interface includes a printer 44 for printing aluggage receipt for accepted luggage with an electronic bag tag. The tagmay alternatively be a barcoded tag, such as a 1D or 2D barcode papertag, readable by barcode scanners 16 g. The barcode scanners 16 g aremovable and are located above the floor 34 of the injector so as to haveline of sight with the piece of luggage on the inner surface of theinjector 14. The barcode scanners 16 g are also programmed to ignorebarcodes sensed outside a predetermined zone that is established basedon x, y and z coordinates from the barcode scanners 16 g. This reducesthe risk of the barcode scanners 16 g reading barcodes not associatedwith the piece of luggage in the injector 14.

The controller 28 is adapted to reject the piece of luggage if theweighing machine 18 indicates that the piece of luggage exceeds apredetermined weight and is thereby classified as heavy, but is stillless than a maximum allowable weight. In such cases, the controller 28is adapted to send a message indicating same to the passenger via thescreen 26. Where the passenger has not exceeded their maximum luggageweight allowance, the message instructs the passenger to apply a heavytag to the piece of luggage. To facilitate same, the controller 28 maycause a colour-coded, RFID, barcoded print out or a heavy tag to bedispensed by a heavy tag dispenser (not shown) associated with theinjector 14 for application to the piece of luggage. Preferably, acolour coded RFID tag or a barcoded heavy tag may be attached to thepiece of luggage and the embodiment confirms the presence of the heavytag before accepting the piece of luggage for registration into thesystem.

Sequential coding of tags is also used to facilitate monitoring of stocklevels of tags in the processing station 10. If the sequential codingindicates that tag stock levels are below a predetermined level, thecontroller 28 is adapted to cause a message to be transmitted, forexample by a beacon, SMS or paging, to alert staff to restock the tags.

The dispensed heavy tag may alternatively take the form of a printed tagincluding visual indicia and/or a barcode for indicating weight data forthe piece of luggage.

If the piece of luggage is determined to exceed the maximum allowableweight, which may be based on a limit set for occupational health andsafety reasons, then the controller 28 may reject the piece of luggageand cause a message to be sent to the passenger, via the screen 26,informing the passenger of same and offering for the passenger to repackthe piece of luggage to reduce its weight. The maximum luggage weightallowance for the passenger may be affected by the payload capacity ofthe aircraft carrying the passenger on the trip and/or the passenger'sstatus with the airline associated with the trip. The controller may beadapted to cause weight information associated with the piece of luggageto be sent to a flight management system for aircraft weight and trippurposes.

In some embodiments, a dispenser may be provided for dispensing papertags for classifying the piece of luggage as being a priority piece ofluggage, a piece of luggage with special handling requirements, and/or apiece of luggage of a special class. The controller 28 is also adaptedto reject the piece of luggage if a passenger has reached the maximumnumber of pieces of luggage in their luggage allowance or their maximumluggage weight allowance. In such cases, the controller 28 is adapted tosend a message indicating same to the passenger via the screen 26. Themessage provides the passenger with options for rectifying the breach oftheir luggage entitlement, such as repacking their luggage to reduceweight or paying a surcharge. If the passenger elects to repack theirluggage, the controller 28 causes the weighing machine 18 to re-weighthe luggage upon the passenger indicating via the touch screen 26 thatthe bags have been repacked and once the virtual box is detected to beintact.

Alternatively, the passenger may elect to pay a surcharge to increasetheir luggage entitlement. Once rectification action has been taken bythe passenger, the controller 28 checks again if the luggage is nowwithin the passenger's entitlement and, if so, accepts the piece ofluggage and causes the printer 44 to print a luggage receipt and/or anexcess luggage receipt or excess luggage advice slip. Alternatively, asdiscussed above, where the passenger has a compatible electronic bagtag, the controller 28 causes one of the RFID antennas to write to theelectronic bag tag the data associating the piece of luggage with thepassenger and the trip or vehicle on which the passenger is booked totravel. One of the antennas may also be adapted to write to theelectronic bag tag information classifying the piece of luggage as beinga priority piece of luggage, a piece of luggage with special handlingrequirements, and/or a piece of luggage of a special class. An injectorconveyor 50 is provided in the floor of the injector 14. The weighingmachine 18 is located below the injector conveyor 50 and has a recesstherein for housing one or more antennae, with a top surface of theantenna 16 f being flush with the underside of the conveyor 50 when inposition in the recess. The other RFID antennas are located above thefloor of the conveyor 50. The controller 28 is adapted to actuate theconveyor 50 if feedback from the sensors 16 c, 16 d indicates that thepiece of luggage is not within a predetermined zone of the injector 14,this zone being a zone within which the piece of luggage can be weighedby the weighing machine, have its maximum length checked by the sensors16 c, 16 d, or other sensors (including Microsoft Kinect™ style camerabased sensors) and have any bag tags thereon read by the RFID antennasand/or barcode scanners 16 g. The controller 28 is also adapted toactuate the conveyor 50 if none of the RFID antennas and/or the barcodescanners 16 g is able to communicate with a bag tag on the piece ofluggage. In such a case, the conveyor is first moved by a distance ofapproximately 100 mm and communication with the bag tag is attemptedagain. If communication with the bag tag is still not possible, theconveyor is moved by a further distance of approximately 100 mm andcommunication is attempted again. If communication with the bag tagstill fails after a predetermined number of movements of the conveyor 50(more preferably three movements), the controller 28 may be adapted totransmit a message to the display screen 26 instructing the passenger tomanually reposition the piece of luggage and/or bag tags, and/or toterminate processing of the piece of luggage.

Once a piece of luggage has been accepted, the controller 28 actuatesthe injector conveyor 50 to convey the piece of luggage to a downstreamcollector conveyor system 52. The conveyor 50 may be actuated by avariable speed drive that runs at a lower speed during movement of theconveyor 50 by approximately 100 mm increments than during movement ofthe conveyor 50 to convey a piece of luggage to the downstream collectorconveyor system 52. The controller 50 may be adapted to actuate theconveyor 50 to move the piece of luggage in an abrupt manner when movingby the 1 mm to 10 cm increments but most preferably 100 mm increments tofacilitate reorientation of the RFID tag. Preferably, the controller mayjiggle the luggage using the conveyor 50 to move the machine readabletags on the luggage into an orientation that may be read to the topmounted barcode reader or front mounted barcode reader.

Preferably, the injector conveyor 50 is oriented so that it is generallyparallel with the ground to prevent the luggage from toppling off thesaid conveyor. The injector conveyor preferably includes an additionalrubberised grip in the form of parallel lines or grooves running in alateral direction along the length of the conveyor 50. In the downstreamconveyor 52, the conveyor may be elevated at a distal end away from thepassenger leading to a small incline of the downstream conveyor of lessthan 15 degrees. The downstream conveyor 52 may include a conveyorsurface with a diamond shaped grip pattern to improve grip andrestriction forces engaging the luggage for movement. Typically, thedownstream conveyor may be operated at a higher speed than the injectorconveyor 50 for primarily safety reasons as the passenger generallycomes into contact with the injector conveyor belt only.

In some embodiments, the controller 28 is adapted to deactivate theconveyor if an intrusion through the virtual box is detected via sensors6-7 during processing of a piece of luggage in the injector 14. Thecontroller 28 may also be adapted to close landside to airsick barriersif an intrusion through the virtual box is detected and preferably thismay occur when the light curtains or appropriate sensors above thedownstream conveyor 52 detect an intrusion.

The controller 28 may further be adapted to cause a notification, suchas triggering of a security alarm, to be sent to a security system orsecurity personnel if an intrusion through the virtual box from outsideby a foreign object is detected. The controller 28 may be adapted toallow processing of the piece of luggage to continue or to be restartedif a predetermined security code is input and/or if electronicidentification meeting predetermined criteria is provided. Thepredetermined security code may be input via an Airline SecurityIdentification Card (ASIC). The controller 28 may be adapted to allowmanual processing of the piece of luggage via the processing station 10to continue if the predetermined security code is input. The controller28 may be adapted to allow manual actuation of the injector conveyor 50in a forward or reverse direction if the predetermined security code isinput to send luggage to the downstream collector conveyor system 52 orreturn a piece of luggage from downstream. The controller 28 may beadapted to permit deactivation of a security alarm if the predeterminedsecurity code is input. The controller 28 may be adapted to permitdifferent levels of access to the luggage processing station 10depending on the predetermined security code that is input.

Monitoring devices may be provided around the injector 14 to detect whenluggage is placed on the bottom surface of the injector 14 as well asintrusion during processing of the piece of luggage and delivery of thepiece of luggage to the downstream collector conveyor system. Themonitoring devices may comprise one or more of lasers, photo eyes 16 cand 16 d and light curtains 16 i.

The user interface 20 may be adapted to require the passenger to answerquestions about the configuration of their luggage. If the passenger'sanswers indicate that the luggage may cause problems with downstreamluggage handling apparatus, for example due to having straps or beingunusually configured, the luggage may be classified as an awkward bagand the user interface 20 may be adapted to instruct the passenger toplace the luggage into a luggage transportation tub (not shown) and toplace the tub (not shown) with the luggage therein in the injector 14.In other embodiments of the present invention, this verification processstep may be achieved automatically by the system without further userinteraction.

The luggage transportation tub (not shown) may be embedded with anelectronic RFID tag that is integrally connected to the tub (not shown),for example by being moulded into the tub (not shown). The controller 28is adapted to only allow the awkward shaped or irregular shaped luggageto be processed if feedback from the RFID) antennas indicates that theluggage is in a tub (not shown). When a piece of luggage in a tub (notshown) is detected, the controller 28 is adapted to automatically deductthe weight of the tub (not shown) from the weight measured by theweighing machine 18 to determine the actual weight of the piece ofluggage.

Preferably, the tub with the RFID tags may be replaced with a tubwithout RFID tags wherein the sensors 6-7 are constructed of cameras andthe controller 28 includes 3D pattern recognition software. Preferably,the controller may be able to detect the use of the tub from patternrecognition software that compares the presented tub with a databases oftubs commonly used in the airport within which the station is installed.This may allow the system to automatically detect the use of a standardluggage tub as used within airport facilities.

Preferably, wherein a tub is detected as being used by a passenger, thecontroller may automatically detect the weight of tubs from the combinedweight of the tub with luggage. The result is recorded with passengerflight information. The controller may also use the passenger interfaceto confirm the use of the airport tub.

One or more cameras may also be positioned around the injector to recordimages of luggage accepted. The cameras, or other image capturingdevices, may also be used to detect the location of intrusions throughthe virtual box or virtual zone. Weight specific logic associated withthe controller 28 and governing its relationship with the weighingmachine 18 is separated from other code associated with the controller28. The weight specific logic is maintained in a first module having aunique version number and the other code is maintained in a separatemodule or modules having a unique version number of numbers that isdistinct from the version number of the module in which the weightspecific logic is maintained. In this manner, changes to non-weightrelated aspects of the code/logic associated with the controller 28 donot require recertification of the processing station 10 as a weighingdevice. The weighing device is adapted to automatically recalibrateitself to zero weight after acceptance of a piece of luggage and beforeweighing a new piece of luggage.

The processing station 10 is adapted to store a history of acceptedluggage to facilitate investigations. The controller 28 may be adaptedto allow the history to be accessed or printed if a user provides apredetermined security code. The security code may be provided in anumber of formats, as discussed above with respect to overriding ofsecurity alarms.

It will be appreciated that the above described and illustratedprocessing station 10 provides many advantages over conventionalpassenger luggage handling systems, some of which are discussed above,but which additionally include: providing for luggage processing andinjection only at the processing station 10, which largely mitigatesqueues; providing enhanced security and safety checks to detectincidence of luggage tampering; providing the ability to writeinformation, such as flight and weight information, to electronic bagtags; speeding up the process of checking in luggage for a flight;facilitates passenger self-service; and facilitates the passengerstaying within the predetermined zone covered by sensor 6-7 duringloading and processing of the piece of luggage due to the orientation ofthe access opening 39 transverse to the axis of the conveyor 50, incombination with the positioning of walls 32 and 34 and with thepositioning of the user interface 20 on the same side of the conveyor 50as the access opening 39; reducing the risk of reading from and/orwriting to RFID tags not associated with a piece of luggage in theinjector by housing the RFID antenna (not shown) in a recess underneathor within the conveyor 50; increasing the incidence of non-communicationbetween tags and the RFID antennas and/or barcode scanners 16 g byautomatically adjusting the position of the piece of luggage using theconveyor 50 if communication cannot be established; accepting multipleboarding pass types; accepting multiple bag tag devices; luggageacceptance area monitored with lasers, photo eyes and light curtains todetect when baggage is placed in the area as well as intrusion duringthe acceptance process; weighing and measurement of luggage in thebaggage acceptance area; an interactive user interface; printersembedded to print out excess baggage receipts and heavy tags embeddedwith RFID to ensure the tag is attached when a bag is heavy; tubsembedded with RFID are used for awkward bags so that they can bedetected when used; and use of cameras to record images of bagsaccepted.

Preferably, in these embodiments the controller nay form an artificialthree dimensional zone around the piece of luggage 55. This artificialthree dimensional zone may be in the form of a virtual box as shown inFIGS. 1 to 4 and it preferably seals the area designated by the zonefrom third party intrusion into the zone (or sometimes referred to asfield). In these embodiments, the zone is also described as a dynamicvirtual box or shape. The dynamic virtual shape is preferably formedaround or about a piece of luggage to be processed. Preferably, the zonemay be modified in terms of shape to closely approximate the generalshape of the luggage 55. The closer the zone approximates the shape theluggage, the more reliable the system is against accidental intrusioninto the zone. For example, a passenger may have loaded a piece ofluggage onto the injector, whilst the passenger is also carrying ahandbag with swinging straps, sometimes the swinging straps may swingover the injector. It is an advantage of the current embodiments thatthe controller will not react to a swinging handbag strap that does notenter the zone. This leads to better passenger experience and lesswastage of time by false intrusions which may occur with other similarsystems.

Preferably, the dynamic virtual shape or zone may be adjusted ormodified in terms of shape or dimensions to fit the piece of luggageinserted into the injector. The dynamic virtual zone is preferablyadapted to provide a secure field around the piece of luggage and toprevent intrusion of the field by the user or foreign object.Preferably, the zone surrounds or encompasses the piece of luggage at adistance of between 1 mm to 1 m from the outer perimeter of the piece ofluggage.

Dynamic Virtual Box or Zone

Preferably in the preferred embodiments of the present invention, thedynamic virtual box wall and ceiling May be initially set at pre-setvalues and may be configured at the build and commission stage ofstation installation. Therefore the preferred sensor height setting maypreferably be set to approximately 900 mm due to restrictions on design,which is far more than the height of most bags. The virtual box outlinecan be seen in FIGS. 1 to 5. The height and locations of the sensorwalls may be dynamically altered to match the piece of luggage which ispositioned within the injector by a process within the embodied systemor device.

If a user then places a bag on the belt, even after the first initialscan of the bag, the laser sensor determined or LMS intrusion heightpreferably would not change. This therefore may allow that theoccurrence of passengers, who accidentally and unintentionally intrudedue to leaning on the front glass panel, or swinging their hand luggageinto the interference zone, can be quite high.

It is generally noted that other shapes other than boxes may be used toachieve a similar result or function including spheres. Additionally, itis noted that the station and system may be improved by extending thezones to other shapes rather than solely box shapes. Preferably, thedynamic virtual zone may include side walls or top walls that aredeflected in a convex or concave manner to accommodate similarly shapedbags and/or luggage. Preferably, the controller includes a patternrecognition algorithm, and may determine whether the piece of luggage isirregularly shaped and may bend the walls of the zone accordingly.

The virtual zone system may be modified to be dynamic using theMicrosoft Kinect™ 3D camera systems or arrays instead of relying on thefixed laser sensing devices. The default max height may be reduced to750 mm (or another value if required). Please note that otherstereotypic camera systems may also be used, but the preferred systemsinclude an array of at least two cameras to provide a three dimensionalimage via stereotypically linking the cameras. Preferably, the camerasor camera arrays may be mounted on motorised mounts to allow forrotation, if required. Additionally, the cameras may be positioned nearor proximal to the upper limit of the virtual zone and may be orientedat an angle towards the centre of the injector wherein the luggage isreceived. Additionally, the preferred sensors or cameras may be adaptedto operate in the infrared frequency so that they are either: notvisible to passengers and to reduce noise based interference; or lesssusceptible to light fluctuations in the airport facility within whichthey are positioned.

Preferably, the injector may be configured to include one camera arraymounted on the top front of the injector and two camera arrays mountedin a tunnel over the downstream conveyor 52, wherein the two cameraarrays are directed towards the area wherein the luggage is received.

With the Dynamic Virtual zone, upon placing a bag on the belt and theinitial three dimensional (3D) scan being completed, the side and heightmeasurements will be changed to suit the dimensions of the bag. Thiswill therefore be slightly higher than the bag placed on the conveyorand is worked out using complex 3D mathematical algorithms. The virtualceiling will also taper off towards the front glass panel to reduce thechance of unintended intrusions where a passenger may be leaning overthe panel (see FIG. 5 in regard the top wall 61).

If a passenger does intrude after the dynamic virtual box has been set,the default size virtual box (750 mm height) will be temporarily useduntil the post-intrusion scan has been completed (in order for thedynamic virtual box to be re-calculated). This allows for dynamicadjustment of the virtual box due to a changed bag position or theplacement of a different bag onto the belt. The image depicted in FIGS.4 and 5 show the ‘dynamic’ virtual box adjusted to suit the size of thebag or piece of luggage on the scale conveyor.

In this specification, the laser sensing Module is also referred to as‘Intrusion Processing Module’ or ‘Intrusion Detection ProcessingModule’.

Generally, an Intrusion Processing Module consisting of one or moredepth image sensors, but preferably 3 sensors. The sensors may be lightcurtains, stereotypic cameras including but not limited to MicrosoftKinect™ devices, photo eyes. At least one default depth image sensorthat has adequate field of vision of the injector. The IntrusionProcessing Module is connected to a controller which may be able toallow or limit movement on the injector conveyor 50 anddispatch/downstream conveyor 52.

In one embodiment, the default depth image sensor creates a virtual zoneconsisting of a relatively vertical curtain between the user and thescale conveyor and a relatively horizontal curtain above the scaleconveyor. Should an intrusion occur in either of these regions, thecontroller will restrict or immediately stop the injector conveyor 50and dispatch or downstream conveyor 52 will cease moving. The controllerwill also stop the luggage from being processed for check in.

The Intrusion Processing Module is able to dynamically adjust thevirtual box, surrounding the check in luggage, based on the dimensionsof the passenger luggage being checked in. This will result in anoptimal intrusion region, similar in height to the height of thepassenger luggage, thereby, for the most part, reducing unwantedaccidental intrusions due to either limbs, handbags, carry-on bags etc.entering the virtual zone.

Preferably, a luggage processing station preferably for use inprocessing luggage at an airport, wherein the station may include: atleast one depth image sensor, (the default depth image sensor) that hasadequate field of vision of the injector. That is: The depth imagesensor shall have the entire scale conveyor in its field of vision, i.e.beginning at the end stop (which is preferably determined by theposition of sensor 16 c) and ending with the down-stream conveyor 52,the depth image sensor shall have the entire sidebar in its field ofvision, the depth image sensor shall have the maximum permissible bagheight in its field of vision for the entire length of the scaleconveyor, no point in either the side or top region of the virtual zonemust be further than 3 m from the depth image sensor.

The station may also include a real time communication module to operatebetween the 3D Scanner or camera (any one or more of sensors 6-7) andthe Intrusion Processing Module. The Intrusion Processing Modulerequires an up to date and accurate calibration file, for each depthimage sensor relevant to the preferred injector.

If any depth image sensor's orientation is moved, the 3DScanner will berequired to recalibrate before the Intrusion Processing Module can againbe declared reliable.

After each scan, the Intrusion Processing Module will require theluggage height in order to dynamically re-locate the virtual zonesurrounding the piece of luggage.

At least one depth image sensor, (the default depth image sensor) thathas adequate field of vision of the injector is able, in conjunctionwith the walls 30 & 32 and floor 14 of the injector, to create a virtualzone around the piece of luggage, by constructing a virtual side curtain36 and virtual top curtain 38. The processing module associated with thedefault depth image sensor will monitor any intrusions through thevirtual zone, to determine one or more of whether a predetermined limiton dimensions of the piece of luggage has been exceeded or whether aforeign object has intruded the virtual zone from outside, and allowfurther processing of the piece of luggage only if no intrusion of thevirtual zone is detected.

As part of its initialization routine, the Intrusion Processing Modulewill define a default virtual side curtain and virtual top curtain toform the initial virtual zone. The Intrusion Processing Module will alsodefine multiple virtual zones with a predefined minimum and maximumheight at a predefined interval or step size.

The word “virtual box” or “virtual zone” throughout this specificationis to be understood as meaning a zone that is wholly or in partcomprised of a non-physical barrier. The virtual zone consists of athree dimensional area that encompasses a piece of luggage and isgenerated by preferably two or more of the depth image sensors.Preferably, the virtual zone may encompass the piece of luggage whereinthe floor forms one side of the zone and the remainder of the zone isdetermined by physical barriers and virtual walls generated by sensors.In some embodiments, the physical barriers (as shown in FIGS. 1-4 aswalls 30 & 32) may be omitted and replaced with virtual walls.

The dimensions of the virtual zone or box may be adjusted to conform tothe respective regulatory standards on luggage dimensions for aparticular airport.

Both the virtual side and top curtain will have a predefined thickness,which will result in a defined minimum and maximum depth intrusionregion, whereby any part of any object found to fall within this depthregion will be analysed to determine whether it is a positive intrusionor not. To prevent accidental intrusions, it is generally required thatthe intrusion to be persistent over a predefined period of time(preferably in a range of 1 ms-2 sec but most preferably 100 ms). Thisfeature may prevent accidental intrusions and to eliminate noise.

Preferably, the intrusion size should be required by the system toexceed a predefined minimum threshold in order for the intrusion to beconsidered as valid (e.g. 1-100 mm).

Depth frames are processed by the Intrusion Processing Module at asampling frequency of 30 Hz. However other frequency ranges arepossible.

In most implementations, the depth image sensor is situated above themaximum permissible bag height, and therefore is tilted downwards, inorder to be able to fully image the injector conveyor 50. Therefore, inorder to maximise the viewing area of the depth image sensors, theintrusion Processing Module can be configured so that the virtual topcurtain 61 may not be flat (as shown in FIG. 5), but tapers downwards,as the injector conveyor 50 approaches the downstream conveyor 52. Thisis to counteract the depth image sensor's limitations on its field ofview; so that the entire virtual top curtain remains within the depthimage sensor's field of view.

The virtual side curtain 61 has a varying lower height in order toaccurately track the side guard's height. (see FIG. 4). This can becalibrated to within a few millimetres (preferably between 1 mm to 1 cm)so that no piece of luggage or any other object is able to intrude,undetected, in the gap between the side guard and the bottom of the sidevirtual curtain.

In some of the implementations or embodiments, it may be possible thatmore than one depth image sensor is used on the same system for otherpurposes (other than creating a virtual box). When the other scanningfunctions are performed by other sensors mounted around the station.

Preferably, the station may include one or more sensors but in thepreferred embodiments, the station may include three sensor arrays andtwo bar code readers.

After each scan the 3D Scanner (e.g. in this embodiment this sensor isshown as sensors 6-7) will convey to the Intrusion Processing Module,the height of the current piece of luggage. Using the sum of the luggageheight and a predefined safety margin, the Intrusion Processing Modulewill update the virtual side and top curtain with one of the multiplevirtual boxes (comprising the dynamic virtual zone). The criteria inchoosing the height of the dynamic virtual zone is that it is as closeto the luggage height as possible, but that it lies above the sum of theluggage height and the predefined safety margin. Preferably, the zone isamended and modified between the insertion of different pieces ofluggage into the injector.

The virtual side curtains or walls contained within the multiple virtualboxes or zones, accurately track the lowered virtual top curtains, sothat both the side and top curtain have the same height.

Preferably, lower virtual zones (in terms of height) may comprise ofvirtual top walls that are generally flat or level or generally parallelto the floor of the injector; as the virtual boxes increase in heightpast a minimum threshold, the virtual top curtain or wall may begin totaper towards the centre of the injector where the injector conveyorapproaches the downstream conveyor to counteract the depth imagesensor's limitations on its field of view.

Preferably, in some embodiments of the present inventions, all virtualside curtains or walls may be contained within the multiple virtualboxes or zones accurately track the sidebar height.

At a predefined rate of approximately 30 Hz, a data packet is sent tothe controller with all the necessary information generated by theIntrusion Processing Module. This information includes: whether there iscurrently a valid intrusion in the virtual side curtain, whether thereis currently a valid intrusion in the virtual top curtain, and whetherthe virtual side curtain is adequately visible to the depth imagesensor, whether the virtual top curtain is adequately visible to thedepth image sensor.

It may also be preferred, wherein a data packet is sent from theIntrusion Processing Module to the controller, as soon as each depthimage received by the depth image sensor has been received and checkedfor intrusions. Each data packet acts as a heartbeat to the controller,to indicate the Intrusion Processing Module is alive and well. If thecontroller does not receive a heartbeat within a predefined duration oftime, the Intrusion Processing Module is declared to be in a faultstate, and the controller must take appropriate safety actions.

In alternate embodiments of the present invention, further improvementsmay be made the overall system or station. Due to the ‘noise’ orunreliability of some network environments, not all packets sent by theIntrusion Processing Module are received by the controller. The protocoladhered to in sending data packets is UDP which does not guaranteedelivery of data. For this reason, the Intrusion Processing Module isconfigurable so that when a valid intrusion is detected, the Side or TopIntrusion bit in the data packet can be set to true for an extendedpredefined period, even after the intrusion is no longer present. Thisis to ensure that an intrusion may be registered by the controller.

The top and side virtual curtains are configurable in their height andposition relative to the scale conveyor. The percentage of eithervirtual curtain that falls outside of the depth image sensor's field ofview is declared ‘out of bounds’. Should the percentage of eithervirtual curtain that is ‘out of bounds’ exceed a predefined threshold,then the Intrusion Processing Module cannot be relied on to accuratelycheck for intrusions and should be reconfigured.

If a point within the depth image sensor's field of view does not have avalid depth, that point is said to be ‘invisible’. Reasons for therebeing invisible points within a depth image sensor's field of viewinclude the following: sunlight in the depth image sensor's field ofview; or a reflective surface in the depth image sensor's field of viewe.g.

-   -   a. If the sidebar is very reflective or    -   b. if some portion of the luggage is very reflective or    -   c. if a customer's clothing is reflective    -   d. An object, person or other is obscuring the depth image        sensor's field of view by covering its infrared camera    -   e. An oversize piece of luggage is too close to the depth image        sensor    -   f. Should the percentage of either virtual curtain that is        ‘invisible’ exceed a predefined threshold, then the Intrusion        Processing Module should not be relied on to accurately check        for intrusions and should preferably be reconfigured.

Additional Preferred Features

The Dynamic Virtual Box could be further improved to taper towards thevirtual side curtain, i.e. towards the user, thereby further decreasingthe chance of accidental intrusions, which may be due to the user's orpassenger's swinging handbag straps.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention may also include aprocessing station for registering a passenger's luggage for a trip, theprocessing station comprising a luggage transportation tub having afirst shape, the tub being adapted to receive a piece of luggageassociated with the passenger; an injector for receiving the tub withthe luggage therein; at least one camera associated with the injector,wherein the camera is positioned so as to allow an image of tub with theluggage to be taken; and a controller associated with the camera, thecontroller being adapted to control operation of the camera and whereinthe controller compares the image to a database of predefined tubshapes.

Preferably, the controller may confirm the use of the tub with thepassenger by using the earlier described touch screen interface orcontroller. The controller may also measure the weight of the luggageand tub through the use of a weight sensor located in the injectorconveyor and then the controller may automatically subtract the weightof the tub from a recorded luggage weight associated with saidpassenger.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificexamples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theinvention may he embodied in many other forms, in keeping with the broadprinciples and the spirit of the invention described herein.

The present invention and the described preferred embodimentsspecifically include at least one feature that is industrial applicable.

1. A processing station for registering a passenger's luggage for atrip, wherein the processing station comprises: a luggage transportationtub having a first shape, the tub being adapted to receive the luggageassociated with the passenger; an injector for receiving the tub withthe luggage therein; a group of sensors comprising at least one sensor,the group of sensors associated with the injector, wherein the group ofsensors positioned so as to allow an image of the tub with the luggageto be taken; and a controller associated with the group of sensors, thecontroller being adapted to control the operation of the group ofsensors and wherein the controller compares an image taken to a databaseof predefined tub shapes.
 2. The luggage processing station of claim 1,wherein the controller includes pattern recognition software forcomparing the image taken to the database of predefined tub shapes. 3.The luggage processing station of claim 2, wherein the patternrecognition software recognises three dimensional tub shapes.
 4. Theluggage processing station of claim 1, wherein the group of sensorscomprises at least one three-dimensional imaging camera.
 5. The luggageprocessing station of claim 1, wherein the controller confirms with thepassenger the use of the tub.
 6. The luggage processing station of claim1, wherein the injector includes a weighing sensor electricallyconnected to the controller.
 7. The luggage processing station of claim6, wherein the controller using the weighing sensor measures thecombined weight of the luggage and tub, and then subtracts the weight ofthe tub from combined weight to determine the resulting luggage weight.8. The luggage processing station of claim 7, wherein the controllerrecords the resulting luggage weight with the passenger's flightinformation.
 9. The luggage processing station of claims 1, wherein thegroup of sensors has at least one sensor which is an image sensor. 10.The luggage processing station of claims 1, wherein the group of sensorsassociated with the injector, in combination with at least the floor ofthe injector, creates a zone.
 11. The luggage processing station ofclaim 10, wherein the controller associated with the group of sensors isadapted to: monitor, via the group of sensors, intrusions through thezone.
 12. The luggage processing station of claim 11, wherein the groupof sensors determines one or more of whether a predetermined limit ondimensions of the luggage has been exceeded or whether a foreign objecthas intruded the zone.
 13. The luggage processing station of claims 11,wherein the controller allows further processing of the luggage only ifno intrusion of the zone is detected.
 14. The luggage processing stationof claim 1, wherein the volume of the zone is dynamically adjusted whenluggage is positioned within the injector.
 15. The luggage processingstation of claim 1, the luggage processing station is adapted to store ahistory of luggage that has been processed.